WASHINGTON (AP) – A Navy study recommending cuts in the submarine fleet should have no effect on the current shipbuilding contracts by companies in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Virginia. But it would hurt future ship production and possibly influence what military bases are targeted for closure, members of Congress said Wednesday.

New England lawmakers got a classified briefing from Navy officials Wednesday and argued against the cuts, but stressed the Pentagon will still need to order at least one submarine a year for some time.

“I don’t foresee any conflict with the five boats in the Electric Boat contract,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., referring to the contract that New London, Conn-based EB and Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia have with the Navy. “This is not a situation where they’re suddenly going to stop submarine production for one, two or three years.”

Members of Congress requested the meeting after hearing reports that a Navy study has proposed slashing the submarine fleet by a third, from about 55 vessels to 37. The cuts would come through retiring older submarines and ordering fewer of the new Virginia-class models.

Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., said he felt better after Rear Adm. Joseph A. Sestak explained that this is one of several studies on the Navy force. But he and Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., said they are concerned about potential cuts and how they could hurt the nation’s ability to build submarines and keep productions lines running.

“We can’t stop submarine production, then expect to increase production levels overnight, once you’ve lost the intellectual capital and trained work force,” Langevin said.

The meeting, which also included Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., and Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joe Lieberman, both D-Conn., lasted about an hour and included a short slideshow presentation on the study, which is still classified. Sestak is the director of the Navy’s assessment division, and was in charge of the study.

Lawmakers said they were pleased with the meeting, but said there are still many unanswered questions, including how the study will affect the 2006 Navy budget. And they noted that several other studies have projected a greater need for submarines. “I feel better knowing that this is a blue-sky assessment, that it’s an effort to project out over 15 years to see what the threats might be and what resources we might need,” Simmons said. “It should not be given any more significance that that.”

A key concern is the impact on jobs in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Congress members said. EB employs about 1,100 people in Groton, Conn., and at Quonset Point, R.I., where some of the work is done.

The Navy in January signed a five-year, $8.4 billion contract with EB and Newport News for five Virginia class nuclear submarines, cementing a congressional plan to provide a more stable, cost-effective shipbuilding program.

AP-ES-06-09-04 1912EDT